Fun shooting brothers, Aaron Moses and Anthony Moses, of the band, War Motor, for my new project, Heavy Metal Nation.

This was the first shoot of the project and I'm still trying to work out the overall aesthetic. And, since this is a blog, I feel I can post the progress of figuring that out without worry of only posting the best, or final shots.

We met, and shot in Juggernaut Music, Gallup, N.M. I had originally envisioned a shoot out on the reservation, but when one starts a project, one has to suss out what can/should be done. So we started here, in Ernie Santiago’s shop (which he graciously let us use). For future shots, I imagine a portrait in a unique environment, coupled with a head banging/airbanding shot. What do you think (comment below)? I did get the “head banging” shot, and love that!

One of my favorite quotes from Aaron, "We're a little lost [referring to a generation of Native kids and young adults], and metal themes are a way to get in touch and in harmony in our hearts and mindsets." For those of you who don’t know, “harmony” is the Navajo way, and bad things can happen when one is out of harmony with nature, the land, teachings, traditions, etc.

I had the pleasure of shooting the principle actors for the musical, Kiss Me, Kate!, Shannon Cochran and Sergio Manzo, and director Eric Gibson, Opera Director at Northern Arizona University (NAU). Thanks to so many involved: Diane Rechel, Jennifer Saunders, Jaqueline Alcocer, Cho Hee Hwang, my intern Sierra Brown, and, a very special thanks to Elena Viscaíno-Sanchez Flys, who without her none of this would have come together.

Worker's gloves…I love shooting them. There is something about the symbolic meaning of the palm, or back of these discarded, or lost gloves (I find them all on the road, or in parking lots, etc.) that gives them a narrative all of their own – they don't need to be in context of any other object, or location.

Found: Flagstaff, Ariz. Nov. 2015

Generally, with advertising still life's anyway, that 'symbolic meaning' qualifies the product giving it an 'exchange value.' Ergo, you wanna buy it. But the connotation here is intrinsic suggesting hard work, long days, overtime, and other concepts associated with those that need to wear gloves – serious heavy duty gloves – for their labor.

Personal glove #1

I have never found a pair, only finding one or the other glove. However, here you see a right and a left glove, both mine, and both from mountain bike racing. I include them, as a suggestion to serious work of a bicycle racer. These gloves are old, and I've worn them until just last week having bought them in the middle '90's. Yes, the middle 1990's! When they were new, I was a serious racer, training hard, and contemplating making racing a career.

Plastic grocery bags. Every year around 500 billion are used worldwide. They are difficult to recycle and take up to 300 years to photo-degrade (the breakup of molecules into smaller pieces by photons), which means they get broken up into smaller and smaller pieces, but never actually biodegrade. These and other plastic items (plastic bottles, bottle tops, feminine hygiene applicators, lid security rings, toys, etc.) are dangerous to birds and other sea animals causing the deaths of an estimated 100,000 marine mammals and one million sea birds from ingestion or entanglement each year. (Source: Disney Nature)

The Center for Marine Conservation, CMC, has been coordinating coastal cleanups since 1986. Of all debris possible on beaches, the CMC lists their “dirty dozen” – twelve items found most frequently:

1) cigarette butts

2) paper pieces

3) plastic pieces

4) styrofoam

5) glass pieces

6) plastic food bags

7) plastic caps and lids

8) metal beverage cans

9) plastic straws

10) glass beverage bottles

11) plastic beverage bottles

12) styrofoam cups

According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the beaches of Staten Island are not as popular as other Atlantic beaches along New Jersey and Long Island because of the traditionally poor water quality of the bay and the abundance of garbage that washes ashore.

During one morning, early one October, I found all these items and more on the north end of South Beach in Staten Island, NY (the end closest to Brooklyn). Staten Island is at the end-point of the Hudson River where it opens up becoming Hudson Bay, and meeting the Atlantic Ocean. These represent a simple snap-shot of a few hours in the life of one beach near one of the most densely populated and largest cities in the world. In viewing satellite photos on Google, this debris seems to be perpetually here, and usually worse than the moment in time I photographed it.

Foam Block, South Beach, Staten Island, and Verrazano Bridge, NY.

Verrazano Bridge

The Verrazano Bridge looking south towards Staten Island.

South Beach, Staten Island, NY

Almost the entire list in one photo, including a hypodermic needle.

South Beach, Staten Island, NY

A fisherman fishing in the polluted waters of South Beach, as a cargo ship heads out to sea.

South Beach, Staten Island, NY

The following images are all from a few hours of walking around this small beach.

My good friend and former assistant, Mark Peery pulled this Polaroid from his archive (old 120 film box, they give you processed film back in). We shot the lovely Joyce Dewitt (Janet on Three's Company) for People Magazine on Mark's birthday and she wished him well and signed the Polaroid for him.

She was one of the nicest most gracious celeb's I have ever shot. I ran into her lately and she remembered me and the shoot fondly, giving me a big hug.

This guy and I have known each other since kindergarten (my mom was his K teacher). We shot over the Christmas break and it was wonderful to catch up and reconnect. I saw his fuzzy mug on Facebook, and had to shoot him. Some in his family are not too keen on his beard (which just a few weeks ago was much longer), and this photo shoot was a big validation for him. We were both quite happy.

In honor of the 25th Anniversary of the fall of the Wall, dividing East and West Germany, I present my photo of the car that is symbolic of the former Deutsches Democratic Republic, DDR. The Trabant. Affectionately referred to as the Trabi, the car was little more than a lawnmower engine and pressed plastic and junk for a body.

Randall had an extremely rare disorder called Maroteaux-Lamy Syndrome, also known as MPS, type 6. (I think. It's been years, and it might not be the disease.) This shot was from pre-surgery (one of many) at NYU medical center. It marked my first time in NYC, where I traveled specifically to document Randall and his family and this surgery. It's a touching and tense moment between mother and son.

Randall and mother just before surgery, NYU Medical Center, 1988-89.

Thanks for the nomination, Graham Howe. I accept.

Day #1: No More Coverups. This first is from a Freedom of Choice Act rally in Columbia, Missouri. I covered this as a graduate student at Mizzou. For this series, I'm going to post only images shot on film (no digital), and all from the archives of my photojournalism days.

B&W challenge. Should you accept, post one B&W image each day for the next 5 days, challenging another friend to do same. I nominate, Raffaella Zurlo.

At the El Segundo Museum of Art, the walls are covered with many of LA’s most influential graffiti and tattoo artist's work, for the installation, SCRATCH. This exhibit is for the public launch of the Getty Graffiti Black Book, a definitive survey, and collection on paper of more than 150 of LA's top graffiti and tattoo artists. Please find more info on the ESMoA site, http://esmoa.org.

We were invited to shoot for our pinhole project during the installation by Eder Cetina (pictured below): artist, curator, museum installs, and all-around bad-@$$. (Thanks, Eder!)

Panorama of site with me and pinhole camera

Stitched together, 3-panel, pinhole shot of the construction of the exhibition

I had the fortune of shooting director Peter Cornwell. He directed Hemlock Grove, episodes 3 & 6, Season 2 (live now on Netflix). Peter gained notoriety for his award winning stop motion short, Ward 13, and went on to direct the feature film, Haunting in Connecticut. Recently, Peter directed the short, Batman Evolution, garnering over half a million YouTube views.

We shot in a shaded space of historic Angelus-Rosedale cemetery, in Los Angeles, CA, where many of Hollywood's early legends are buried, including Tod Browning (1880-1962), movie director and screenwriter known as "The Master of the Macabre."

We took in an old 8mm film projector, which Peter idly threaded while I set up. During the long exposures we were able to move him and he becomes a ghost as he joins the space, paying a bit of respect to the greats that lie in Angelus-Rosedale. In the final image on the main section of my site, he sits, sort of as homage with a projector aimed at the back of the nearest headstone, readying to watch a film – maybe it's one of theirs.

It's not easy being the subject of a photo when you are used to being on the directing side of the camera, and being the excellent sport that he is, we had a great shoot, and he's a great subject. (Thanks!)